Those Who Wait On The Lord

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Isaiah 40:31, Renewal of strength, Struggles, Wait on the Lord

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31 

I so needed this reminder today as I am struggling with some things on many different levels…

I need my strength renewed…

I can’t afford to grow weary…

Celebrate Recovery Is For Everyone

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12-Step Program, Alcoholism, Anger, Anxiety Issues, Celebrate Recovery, Co-Dependency, Depression, Divorce, Drug Addiction, Forgiveness, God, Healing, Hope, Jesus, Large Group, Life, Living Life On Life's Terms, Loss, Marital issues, Physical Abuse, Porn Addiction, Relational Issues, Richland Celebrate Recovery, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Sin, Small Group, Struggles, Suicidal Thoughts, Verbal Abuse, Worship

Why do people still believe Celebrate Recovery is just for addicts? Is it because they have seen the movie Home Run? Did they go to that bathroom or something during testimony night in the film, where the main character’s sister-in-law speaks of her sexual abuse as a child? Or could it be because everyone thinks only addicts need recovery?

I’ve been going to Richland Celebrate Recovery since it began at my church six years ago, with the exception of a small hiatus. I’ve seen many people come and go over the years for various reasons; mostly, because they move back home upon coming out their recovery program.

I’ve written about CR (Celebrate Recovery) many times on my blog and I talk a lot about it in general, yet people still see it as a place for addicts. Let me say for the record…yes, addicts attend CR, BUT that is NOT all it is about.

Here is what Celebrate Recovery is…

It is a Christ centered program for people. PEOPLE!

It’s not just for the addict…it’s for the hurting, the lonely, the habitual sinner, the depressed and the list can go on and on. It’s a place for people with hurts, habits and hang-ups. It’s a place for healing.

When I started going to CR it was basically to help as a volunteer for our church’s newest ministry. I had heard about it and supported it. Little did I know…I needed it for me.

At the time I was going through my separation/divorce, not being able to see my kids everyday, depression, anger and trying to stop a long struggle with viewing porn and low self-esteem among other things.

I would have gone absolutely bat crazy had it not been for CR and the conversations and prayer from dear friends during all that.

Here’s the thing. A lot of people who struggle, with anything, sometimes feel as if they are the only ones dealing with that particular issue. And many of them feel that if they share their struggle with anyone, they will be looked upon differently…basically judged. And yet we can’t judge and here is why…we are all sinners and fall short of the glory God.

God sees no sin greater than the other, yet He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to die for all. All is all, no matter what it is. It could be adultery, drinking in excess, lying, sexual immorality, gluttony, murder, stealing, idolatry, etc.

The thing is, if we are honest with ourselves, we all have hurts, we all have habits that may not follow in line with scripture, and we all have hang-ups of some form or fashion.

CR is for everyone!

I go for the worship and message and still feel the prompting of the Holy Spirit to repent of something or to make amends with someone.

It’s honestly hard to explain. Heck, we have a 70-year-old lady who attends and our youngest is a 17-year-old  young lady. Everyone gets something out of the message no matter what they are going through at that moment. That’s just how God works.

The small groups are more intimate and allows each person the chance to either share how the message applies to their situation or just share what’s on their heart. Small groups have been a source of healing for me just by letting things out. You know…my life verse…confess your faults one to another. James 5:16 is so powerful.

Allow me to ask you guys a few questions.

Are you depressed? Do you have anxiety issues? Are you feeling alone after losing a loved one whether by death or the break-up of a relationship? Do you suffer from over eating? Are you addicted to sweets? Do you drink in excess to the point of losing control of who you are? Are you hurting from the wounds of words spoken? Do you have low self-esteem? Have you ever been sexually molested? Have you been physically or verbally abused?

If you answered yes to any of those, Celebrate Recovery is for you.

Give it a try! Allow the Lord to lead you. Go to the Celebrate Recovery website and see if there are any local chapters.

I have a list of all the ones in Louisiana, here on my blog site and keep it updated as best I can.

If you choose to attend please let me know how you enjoyed it and if it ministered to you.

God Bless,
Stu

Life Is Like A Box Of Lego Pieces

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Building bridges, Family, Father & son time, Fatherhood, Lego, Life, Raising Godly Children, Relationships, Son

 

I took Brandon to a Lego Challenge event yesterday. In this event he had to build different size bridges that would be able to withstand a certain amount of weight.

So we woke up really early and headed to Shreveport. On the way he told me that he was nervous about doing this. I asked why and his response was that there will be people there he didn’t know and he was afraid that he would not be able to build a strong enough bridge.

I compared this event to his Taekwondo tournaments. I explained that this event was no different from going to a tournament and getting out there in front of all those people and doing his form, sparring and breaking boards. And that even though he does his best at everything someone is better and someone is not as good as he his. That’s why there are gold, silver and bronze medals.

He goes I will do my best daddy. I said I know you will and smiled. He smiled back back…I knew he was good to go then.

Once we arrived at the event he was rearing to go. They explained that there would be four stages with the first stage being a seven-inch bridge that could hold the weight of at least ninety pennies.

He dives into the box of Lego pieces and commences building his first bridge. He nails the ninety penny weight so they continued adding pennies until his bridge collapsed. It held the weight of one hundred and twenty pennies. He was stoked.

As he was building his foot long bridge, which was stage two, he starts helping some of the other kids build their bridges. So cool watching him do this and offering advice on which Lego pieces to use to add more structure to their bridge.

He nails the foot long bridge stage with the weight of two hundred and fifty pennies. His bridge, and the little girl he helped, didn’t even bow under the weight.

The last two stages were the most challenging as the bridge had to increase in length to one and a half feet and then two feet. Brandon gets the bridge built and before he places it across the gap in the tables he sees it bowing really bad on the right side. He grabs two Lego pieces and then smiles.

He places it across the gap. It holds up to the required weight.

He looks at me and goes I don’t think I can do the next stage. It’s too long and there are not many pieces left. I’m like, yes you can, just use your imagination. I’m here if you need help.

He only asked for my help twice. Once to pull apart two Lego pieces that he could not take apart. And then to help with the measurement.

He looks at all the pieces in the different boxes, grabs a few out of each both and starts going to town. He keeps measuring and building for about fifteen minutes and goes ok I think I’m ready.

He puts it across the gap. He asks if he can put the pennies on there this time. They say yes.

Brandon does it differently than the event leader did. Instead of placing them in the center he spreads the pennies out like they were cars. Cool idea.

Sadly, his bridge broke at the one hundred and seventy penny mark. He was a little upset but still smiling. He just looked at me and said “Daddy, I didn’t make it strong enough.”

I said “Don’t worry about that son. Look at what you accomplished. You made it to the fourth round by building something bigger than you ever have before. I am very proud of you. You did awesome.”

Brandon ended up in second place. His prize was a Captain America bobble head. Totally cool.

He had so much fun that no sooner did we get in the car he asked when the next one was. 🙂

I guess you are probably wondering why in the world am I sharing just a random story in the life of me and my son.

Well, when it comes to days with my kids, I have come to realize that everything has a reference to God and my journey…and even other people’s journeys. You can read about a couple of those references HERE and HERE.

This day just reminded me of how God has helped me mend or completely restore broken bridges that collapsed due to one thing or another in my life.

It is kind of like building a Lego bridge. Heck, life is like a box of Lego pieces with different parts and pieces fitting together.

You have to start small and continue building until the bridge is structurally strong, with open and honest communication, forgiveness and a whole lot of prayer. Sort of like the bridge my dad and I are working on. Little blocks first…

 

For My Children I Must Stay Vigilant

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Beautiful, Being Vigilant, Dadhood, Daughter, Life, Parenting, Priceless, Raising Godly Children, Single Dad, Son, Spiritual Leader

As parents we all have fears. They begin, for some of us, even before our children are born. I know for me it did.

You see, I have always wanted to be a dad. But I didn’t want to be just a dad, I wanted to be a great dad. A dad who would always be there for his children. One who would always show them affection and spend time with them and guide them into adulthood.

And yet, at the same time I always feared that I would never live up to my own expectations, much less theirs, of what a dad should be. Here lately that fear has crept back up to the point of me crying out God, I’m scared.

First, let me say I am ok. I have talked with friends and have asked many to pray for me, which has helped tremendously. But I still feel the prompting to share, with you, what I have struggled with over the past week in my head.

I’ve reflected back on my conversation with my dad where I asked him why he never showed me how to love a woman the right way and why wasn’t he there to guide me into adulthood as a spiritual leader. His answer brought tears to both of us as he said “Son, I was never shown how.”

That conversation still brings me to tears as I ponder my own relationship with my two children. Being a single dad with limited time with my kids is not easy for a dad who deeply loves his children.

I want to be that dad who does show his son how to love a woman the right way. I want to be that dad who will guide him into adulthood as his spiritual leader so he can be the same for his future wife and family.

I want to be that dad who will set the standard by which my daughter views men. A godly man, who treats woman correctly with respect and love. A dad who always reinforces to her how special she is, how priceless she is and yes, how beautiful she is.

The fear is in the fact the enemy is constantly attacking me. He does not want me to raise my children to love the Lord much less themselves.

He does not want me to teach my son how to be the spiritual leader by watching me.

He does not want me to be the example for my daughter to look for in a future husband.

The enemy wants me to fail. He wants me to fall flat on my face. He wants me to give up. But you know what? I’m not going to fail nor will I give up.

I may miss an opportunity here and there. I will make mistakes. I know that. But I will always be watching to protect my children to the best of my ability. I will guide them the best I can and pray diligently that the Lord will take up the slack.

I will stay sober and vigilant so the enemy does not devour me…nor them.

Do We Cheer Or Condemn With Our Words And Actions?

Tags

Addiction, Adultery, Condemnation, Freedom, God, Grace, Jesus Christ, Life, Sin

There is this beautiful portrait of Christ’s forgiveness found in scripture that I want to discuss today. A picture of a young woman caught in sin. A picture of condemnation and grace that is still being painted today.

One day Jesus was in the temple teaching when all of a sudden a group of scribes and Pharisees bust in. They have with them a woman who was caught in the very act of adultery.

I see them throwing her down half-naked since she was caught in the act. Looking at Jesus they said that the law tells us that such a woman should be stoned. What do you say?

Jesus does the coolest thing ever. He just stoops down and starts writing in the dirt in from of him. Now, it doesn’t say what he wrote but I see him writing down the name of the man who was committing adultery too.

Since he didn’t answer them right away they kind of hound him for the answer. Finally he looks up and says this…He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

Jesus, then looks back down and starts writing in the dirt again. I think he was writing some sins down that the people had committed.

But anyway, after a bit all the scribes, Pharisees and the others, starting with the oldest to the youngest, left. One by one the rocks fell…but not on her…they fell to the ground because each and every one of them knew they had sinned.

After a while the only two left were Jesus and the woman, who I am sure was still was cowering in fear waiting for the stones to fall upon her.

But instead Jesus says to the woman “Where are your accusers? Hath no man condemned you?” She tentatively looks up and sees no one but Jesus and says “No man, Lord.” Jesus responds by saying “Neither do I, go and sin more.”

Jesus didn’t bring up her adultery. He didn’t bring up her past. He didn’t condemn her, for he did not come into the world to condemn it but rather that through him the world might be saved.

So where is the beauty in this picture? It is in the fact that Jesus did not condemn her. Jesus, holy and without sin said “Neither do I.”

I wish we, as followers of Jesus, did not condemn people. But we do.

There can be many reasons for this too. We can see ourselves as the high and mighty, having it all together, like the Pharisees did.

For some, it could be that we see someone else’s sin as worse than ours. Yet, all sin is the same….sin.

For some it can be a way of controlling a person by always reminding them of their past.

Some of us actually condemn ourselves by our way of thinking. Especially in regards to self-worth.

I hear people say things like once an addict always as addict all the time. Or once a whore always a whore. Or here’s one even better…people don’t change. Really?!?

No!!! Addicts find deliverance from their addiction through the same grace that said “Neither do I.” That same grace that came to save the world says no, you are not a whore…you are a child of God, you are priceless and I love you. That amazing and wonderful grace does change people…from the inside out.

I believe that we, as a people, will always have a tainted picture of ourselves if we continue to allow the words and accusations of others to influence our view of ourselves. I know from my own experience. For I was the addict that Jesus came to save just like ha came to save the adulterous woman and everyone else. And I did change! But sometimes, I do allow my past shame and guilt to creep back in. Then Jesus lovingly reminds me who I am now.

He doesn’t bring up my past!

And as followers of Jesus we should not bring up the past of others either, but rather cheer them on in their journey.